I agree with Adam's assertion that fonts are more broadly reusable
than many/most other web assets. The idea of a more generic "asset
wrapper" is interesting, but I don't know that it's necessary or even
appropriate at this time.
To those who demand the foundries trust their customers:
First, it's about more than trusting our customers. If we allow
customers to post fonts on a server, free and clear, we must then
trust everyone on the web. I'm sure nobody here thinks that everyone
on the web is trustworthy (i.e. doesn't steal). Foundries need some
simple barriers ("fences" is a good figure of speech) to convey what
is free and what is not. For many foundries, their sole source of
revenue is fonts. Some users are asking them to allow anyone to post
their product on a server where anyone can take and use them. That is
simply not realistic for most foundries.
Second, it seems counterproductive to exhort a foundry to trust its
customers while simultaneously fomenting distrust of foundries. Like
any business, foundries will have to find a business model that
strikes the right balance between customer satisfaction and
sustainable revenue. It all depends on what the market will bear, but
license fees, proportional to the rights and benefits one receives,
are part of the font business. It would be better to approach that
discussion with trust and understanding, because in the end, the
foundry-user relationship is reciprocal. Foundries certainly do know
that what they charge and the license agreements they impose are
factors in customers' choices, but likewise, users still must
acknowledge and honor those agreements when they license a font. We
try to understand what our customers want and need, and hope that our
customers understand the same of foundries.
To summarize, and reiterate what others have said: Foundries are
looking for basic font protection on the web, something which
minimizes inadvertent and brazen font copying and misuse. It need not
be oppressive. We have to consider more than just our customers, we
have to worry about everyone on the web who will have access to font
files, whatever format that might be. It seems like a satisfactory
solution is within reach. I'd ask all the skeptical font users out
there to consider that what font foundries need really is fairly
simple -- and Ascender's proposal is a good illustration of that.
Regards,
Christopher
* * * *
Christopher Slye
Team Lead, Typographic Staff
Type Development
Adobe Systems, Inc.
San Jose, California